Sei Investments Co. Sells 3,600 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Sei Investments Co. reduced its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 4.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 69,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,600 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $5,126,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth $39,347,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth $3,961,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $3,832,000. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 197.8% during the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 15,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,255,000 after acquiring an additional 10,535 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth $909,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EWBC. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $72.50 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $94.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.87.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

EWBC stock opened at $80.04 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $81.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.11. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.59 and a 12-month high of $89.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.08, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.10. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 25.40% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The firm had revenue of $638.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $631.61 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.17 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.71%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, EVP Gary Teo sold 3,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.73, for a total transaction of $302,668.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,875 shares in the company, valued at $1,392,713.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total value of $167,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,557 shares in the company, valued at $1,382,509.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gary Teo sold 3,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.73, for a total transaction of $302,668.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,392,713.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,346 shares of company stock worth $1,108,160 over the last 90 days. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About East West Bancorp

East West Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for East West Bank that provides a range of personal and commercial banking services to businesses and individuals in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Consumer and Business Banking, Commercial Banking, and Other.